


The Paths to Take

by Luminous_Moon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, femHarry Potter - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26214190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luminous_Moon/pseuds/Luminous_Moon
Summary: Elizabeth Potter knows nothing but emptiness. The orphanage is a dark, cold cage. When she receives her letter, Hogwarts opens up new paths for her to take, and Slytherin is the place to go if she wants to reach her goals. Along with a talking book belonging to 'Tom Marvolo Riddle', she will do anything to keep alive. Even if it meant plastering a mask on and smiling. Future FemHarry/Tom Riddle.Discontinued, replaced by Slytherin Girl, Through and Through
Relationships: FemHarry/Tom Riddle
Comments: 3
Kudos: 51





	The Paths to Take

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is my very first fanfic on Archive of Our Own. Hope you enjoy this! I also have an account on Fanfiction.net called AARaven14 (as well). Please review this and tell me what you think!

Nine years had passed since the baby had been left on the orphanage's doorstep.

Though the hearts of the many children inside had changed, the building itself had not.

Dark, cracked bricks, cold, stone floors, the rusty steel gate, and peeling paint on the door. The grass was overgrown and spiked, thorny weeds were scattered through the barely recognizable flowerbeds. Not that anyone could tell that they were flowerbeds. They were just a small pile of dirt and scrabbly grass littered with pieces of mangled metal bits from who knows where.

Inside was no better, but we will come back to that, later.

Up in the highest room of St Mary's Orphanage lived the very baby mentioned at the start, though she had grown up and now was a ten-year-old girl.

Her name was Elizabeth Potter.

Her room was especially dull. A desk with uneven legs and charred corners filled up one dark corner, an almost empty wardrobe another. The bed was pushed to the middle of the room. A tiny window let a single stream of light in. There were bars in place of glass, as the orphanage did not want to waste any money on the room of the 'devil' child. It was more of a prison cell than a bedroom. The children of the orphanage all had miserable lives, but at least they had each other. Elizabeth had no one. Nobody wanted to play with her, to be her friend. She was lonely and she didn't know what to do about it.

She tried making friends with every single new arrival at St Mary's, but after a few seconds, an adult would sweep over and whisk them away, giving Elizabeth the evil eye.

So yes, she was lonely and friendless. She did all the chores. Sweeping the floors, washing, scrubbing the windows, dusting, helping the cook make food. Not that there was much to eat, mind you. They never had lunch like Marie-Anne who lived across the road in the big house had. Breakfast was just a thin, watery porridge, and dinner always consisted of vegetable soup, a small pot to be shared between a dozen children.

Right now she was in the laundry, her dark hair pulled into a ponytail and her green eyes screwed up as she struggled to lift the large washing basket piled with clothes. There was a yelp as her arms gave way and the whole lot fell onto her foot. She hopped around; cheeks flushed from the pain.

"Stupid girl!" The matron burst in, face red and black skirts lifted. "Can't even do the washing! A night in the cellar, no dinner!" Elizabeth shrunk as the matron's hand grabbed her arm and dragged her to the cellar and threw her in.

"Useless child!"

A tear left Elizabeth's emerald eyes as she huddled in a corner. Useless. She was useless.

[][][][][][][][][][]

"I'm so sorry Ma'am!" The words fell from Elizabeth's lips as she ran straight into a woman standing by the snake exhibit. The orphanage was visiting the school, and Elizabeth had been left behind when Daniel and Max, two twins tripped her. She ducked down to retrieve the lady's dropped handbag when she realized a black book had fallen out. She reached to hand it back to her.

"No! Don't touch it!" The woman's fingers left a bruise as she yanked Elizabeth back from the innocent-looking book.

"Pardon?" Elizabeth rubbed her arm and stared at where the woman was. Or had been. She had gone.

"Huh. Never mind." The young girl picked up the diary and stuffed it into her coat pocket. Maybe she'll examine it later, in the safety of her room. She hurried to catch up, pushing the mysterious diary to the back of her mind.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Completely exhausted, Elizabeth flopped down on her bed and winced as the thin mattress came in contact with the spring. Now, what did she forget?

"Oh yes, the diary." She unzipped the coat pocket and dug out the book, holding it up to the sliver of light coming from the window.

It looked very old, with faded gold letters that read 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'. Why did the lady have what was obviously a boy's diary? She opened it and found that every page was blank. Confused, she got a pen from the desk and pressed the tip to the paper.

 _Hello. My name is Elizabeth_. She wrote hesitantly. She was shocked, however, when the words vanished like they had never been there in the first place. She was even more surprised when new words appeared, in an elegant script that looked far nicer than Elizabeth's narrow writing.

 _Hello, Elizabeth. My name is Tom Riddle._ The hell? Intrigued, Elizabeth replied.

 _Hello, Tom. May I call you Tom? I've never had a friend before_. Then she bit her lip. Were they friends already? She didn't know as she had never had a friend before.

_You may call me Tom._

Elizabeth beamed.

_How can you write back, though? Normal books don't respond._

_The key word there is normal._ Elizabeth's heart raced.

_You mean like magic?_

_Precisely._ Elizabeth felt joy light up inside her.

_I can do things. I can summon books or toys when I really want them. One time when Margaret Smith cut up my new skirt and the next day all her clothes were burnt. So you’re a magical book?_

There was a long pause, then Tom wrote back.

_I could do things as well, Elizabeth. You have magic._

Wide-eyed, Elizabeth stumbled and slammed shut the book. That was quite enough for today, she thought frantically. The book was officially mad, she decided. Magic didn’t exist. And even if it did, she was just stupid, useless little Elizabeth Potter. She couldn’t have magic. Even with the things she could do.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Though she promised herself to not ever open the crazy book again, Elizabeth couldn't help but take a peek after she finished her work. She got it out and paused, wondering what to write after she so abruptly disappeared. Fortunately, Tom wrote first.

 _Finally decided to accept that you have magic?_ Elizabeth squirmed.

 _Yes...no...I don't know_.

If books could snort, this certainly did. It shuddered, and Elizabeth eyed it warily.

_You sound like a clueless peasant._

Indignation filled her.

_Excuse me?_

_Say yes or no. I don't know is not a satisfactory answer._ Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

_Yes, your majesty._

_Pardon?_

_Shut up._ She closed the book and smiled. Maybe having magic wouldn't be so bad. Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to escape the orphanage.


End file.
